The Narcissistic Elephant in the Room: How Narcissists Affect Their Kids

In today's episode of Go Ask Angie, I answered a viewer question relating to narcissists and how they affect their children.

YouTuber August Greenwell said: Could you please explain a bit more about the effect of "kid issues" and how they relate to one becoming narc-bait? And could birth order play a component? Thanks ahead of time, Augs

So, I've got good news and I've got bad news for you - the good news? It's not you - it's the narcissist.

In fact, it's an extremely common red-flag symptom of NPD, and it's one that many victims and survivors of narcissistic abuse and gaslighting in relationships report: they feel like they don't matter; like the narcissist made it clear to them that they aren't actually important.

So, while Mr. Greenwell is lucky enough to have already left his narcissistic relationship, I know not everyone has.

If you're struggling with this kind of abuse now, you probably get what I mean - that feeling of feeling like you are always sort of "faking it" and like you don't even really believe yourself when you talk.

Let's talk about the bad news. That's a form of dissociation and it's a common symptom of PTSD and C-PTSD, which are unfortunate but all-too-often seen side effects of this type of abuse.

Disassociation is a disconnection from your physical surroundings. It's when you feel like you're sort of watching the world from somewhere deep inside your head, or above it or somehow disconnected from it. Like you're "not really there" or like you're watching life through a movie. You know what I'm talking about?

The worst part about how narcissists treat people like possessions is that there are no limits to who they will use to get what they want - and no limits to how low they'll stoop and who they're willing to hurt.

But while there are many different TYPES of toxic narcissists, there are four basic traits that every narcissist has in common, according to a 2013 study.

In that narcissism-focused study, the researchers were able to define the following traits as being shared among all narcissists, despite various other definitions and forms of the personality disorder. It didn't matter if they were a covert narcissist or an overt one - or one of the many other types that we've currently defined.

4 Qualities Shared by All Narcissists

The qualities that are shared by all narcissists, regardless of classification, include the following.

Selfishness

Disregarding other people

Being self-centered

Lack of empathy

Interesting, right? I thought so. Would you add any qualities to this list? Would you disagree with any? Let's discuss. Share your thoughts on that in the comments below.

What makes a person become a narcissist?

There are a few different ways that a person can be "made" into a narcissist - and sometimes, knowing this stuff can help you to better understand what you're dealing with - and that can lead to a better life for you.

Though there is no single known cause for narcissistic personality disorder, there are several factors that may be associated with the development of the recognized disorder, according to my research.

It's all about loss, in some way or another - sort of - whether it's a loss of a "normal" experience, or a loss of the ability to become self-sufficient in one way or another.